MERIDIAN, Idaho — Incumbent Meridian Mayor Robert Simison has retained his seat.
Preliminary results show Simison won ahead of challenger Mike Hon, garnering just under 70% of the vote.
"I'm happy with the direction that the community thinks that we're going," Simison said Tuesday night. "And I think that the results are proving that the community is not interested in having extremist representation at the city level."
Simison will serve his second term as mayor. He worked under previous mayor Tammy De Weerd as her chief of staff for 12 years before being elected to succeed her.
Hon is a real estate broker and former city council candidate who narrowly lost to Luke Cavener in the 2021 election. Hon didn’t respond to the Idaho Press for a candidate interview, but wrote on his campaign website that he was running because he felt city council had been unresponsive to citizens and growth had been “unfettered.”
Hon is also the co-founder of a group that tried to dissolve the Meridian Library District.
Simison said he wants to continue to build up the city's police and fire staffing, improve parks and address transportation issues.
As of Nov. 7, the incumbent mayor had raised $119,650 from 258 donors. Some of his large contributions came from organizations such as the Idaho Association of Realtors Political Action Committee and Building Contractors Association Southwest Idaho. Businesses such as Fairway Independent Mortgage, Bank of Idaho, Alturas Construction LLC, and Louisiana-based Lavigne Oil Company of BR LLC donated to his 2023 campaign.
Hon raised $7,762 from 40 donors since Jan. 1, 2023. The majority of his donations appear to have come from individuals rather than businesses or PACs.
City Council
Three Meridian City Council seats were up for election in the city's first election using geographic districts. John Overton was unopposed for Seat 4, so there was no election for his spot.
Early results as of 10:25 p.m. show Liz Strader ahead of Brad Hoaglun with 54% of the vote in the race for Seat 2, which featured two incumbents facing each other. For Seat 3, Doug Taylor was strongly leading against Bill Chandler with around 70% of the vote. Anne Little Roberts was ahead against Todd Ebeling with 62% of the vote for Seat 5.
For full election results, click >> HERE <<
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